[The show]
offered a new
voice. It spoke
to an audience
that maybe
felt they hadn't
been spoken
to before.
With that in mind, Parker
doesn't want to let anyone
down. "We're deeply
invested in this, and it
shows," she says. However,
just what made the TV
series and the first movie
such a success is a mystery
to the star. "I really don't
know," she smiles. "I just think it offered
a new voice coupled with extr aordinar y
writing. It spoke to an audience that maybe
felt they hadn't been spoken to before." She
loves the fact that the audience has grown
with the characters and that the movies
have taken up where the TV show left off.
Parker says she misses doing the T V
show but is happy her career has shifted
to film. It means being able to spend
more time with her husband of 13 years,
actor Matthew Broderick, and their three
children, James, seven, and twins Marion
and Tabitha, who turn one on 22 June.
The hours required to make the T V show
wouldn't be suitable for Parker's lifestyle
these days. "I couldn't do it any more,"
she says matter-of-factly. "There's a big
difference between doing TV and film.
I loved the speed of T V but the hours were
beautifully gr uesome. I worked 16 to 18
hours every day. Making a film is three
months of hard work but then I have time
to spend with my loved ones. It allows me
to have a life, which just didn't exist before."
Despite the recent glitch in the economy,
director and writer Michael Patrick King
promises there will be no shortage of
haute couture: Dior, Chanel and, of course,
Manolo Blahnik. After all, Sex and the City
is as much about costume as char acter.
Through her on-screen persona
Parker has become a style icon. She
admits that ever since Carrie debuted on
our T V screens sporting a pair of Manolos
and a pink tutu, the fashion world has
been ver y kind to the actor. "I love beautiful
clothes and I love shoes and handbags
too," she says. "It's art."
Expect the same celebr ation of fashion
in the latest movie. "Nobody wants to see
an unglamorous Carrie Bradshaw," laughs
King. Parker agrees, and reveals there will
be "lots of headgear" featured in the sequel
in homage to its Middle Easter n locale.
And if you doubt how seriously the Sex
and the City movies are taken in the fashion
world, just take a peek inside Parker's
closet in her Manhattan home. It is full
to the brim with designer apparel, thanks
to the generosity of fashion designers.
"I'm very, ver y lucky that way," she says,
"but a lot of times I get to wear something
once and then I have to hand it back."
When I point to her bare wrist and
mention there is one more accessory that
she could add to her life, Parker laughs.
"Could you find a watch that puts more
hours in the day? That would be perfect."
profile
Above, from left:
Parker and her
husband, Matthew
Broderick, at
the 2010 Oscars;
The Sex and the
City 2 foursome
embraces
Middle Eastern
culture head-on.
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